A bit late with this Spratts match on Elm. The trouble is that I'm now retired, and you never get a day off! And there's lots of gardening to do. Slugs or something have eaten all my kale seedlings so I've had to buy plants. But the rain seems to have suited my potatoes and courgettes. And the optician who tested my eyes says I have better than 20/20 vision. Not sure how I can be better than perfect, but there you are!
A longish walk to peg 13 on Elm saw me settled in the corner for the day, with John Garner opposite on 12. Roy Whitwell had been on 14 a day or too earlier and he said that had a lovely margin to the right, which would be to my left. Sure enough it was still there when I arrived, though plumbing up revealed that it was horribly bumpy. However I decided that I would have a quick look there when the match started, after putting in a few delicacies at 2+2 a bit to the right. because the warm wind was quite strong, from the left, but giving a lovely big Raspberry Ripple.
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| A big warm wind blowing down to my end. Nice. |
There was less than three feet depth next to platform 14 (which was vacant) and soon after dropping in corn I hooked a fish, certainly foulhooked, which suddenly remembered it had an urgent appointment in Peterborough, turned on the turbo chargers, and waved me goodbye. A bit later a nice F1 came from that spot, and I fancied I had another knock or two, so I stayed in that margin for far too long, catching another F1 close to me on a top two, before realising that John Garner had started catching carp close to the end bank.
I went out to my baited swim and had a definite bite, but soon moved out at 13 metres to the end bank. That brought two nice big carp quite quickly. It was hard work in the wind so I had a look down in the deep margin to my right, a couple of mtres out. Sure enough I started getting bites on corn, and carp to 5 lb came in. Cat meat brought the occasional better fish, but they were never ravenous.
One big fish gave me a bit of a runaround, and after a time it came towards the net. But a wag of its tail saw it slide past, and towards my keepnet. It slewed away from that and came into the bare bank on my right, and appeared beaten, as it lay on its side.
No more than 15 minutes before the end I had a look in the left margin again, just on a top two, and had a big F1 and two 8 lb carp, and lost another. I should have gone there earlier, of course. But at least I had my rig all ready plumbed up, so I did that right!
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| John Garner with onbe of his best mirrors. |
Roy Whitwell, who could catch fish anywhere, started with 124 lb 12 oz from peg 2. I wasn't surprised, as he's so good, and conditions were almost perfect. On peg 8 Neil Paas took the lead with 154 lb 5 oz, all from close in on the pole. Then John Garner on corner peg 13 weighed in. He went 6 lb over in his first net, ending with 132 lb 2 oz, which I thought was about my weight.
I also went over in one net, by about 5 lb, but ended with 136 lb 6 oz, putting me second, and John Garner must heve been rueing that 6 lb over weight on one net. For myself, I assume I must have missed clicking a big fish.
Last to weigh, on peg 21, Kevin Lee totalled 143 lb 15 oz, pushing me down to third place. But that lost 5 lb on the scales, plus that lost fish that I nearly landed, would undoubtedly have given me second place.
Kevin Lee with four big friends.
I stayed far too long in the left margin at the start, and missed going back there with 90 minutes to go, just to have a look. But I was putting fish in the net, so I can't be too hard on myself. I caught on corn and cat meat, but didn't try paste, which was a mistake. Probably worth 7/10.
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Peg 12, Six-Island, Decoy, Mon, June 1
Normally I would run (or hobble quickly) to peg 12, but on this day the wind was forecast to be SW, which would be back wind. And everyone knows how I love a Raspberry Ripple. Sure enough the wind was hacking down to the car park, and into the Northern bank, pegs 4 to 9.
Still, I had a job to do, and I had Neil Paas immdiately on my left. The trouble with leaving pegs vacant in a match is that you often can't see what they are doing, and you can't chat to them (at least I can't, with my hearing). So I was pleased to have Neil within spying distance, as he has been catching so well lately.
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| Neil Paas on 14 lands an early fish. We had back wind and got very little ripple all day - not ideal when the fish were finicky. |
This is my favourite of the 11 lakes at Decoy, so I sort of expected to catch something early on. But I soon realised that it was going to be hard, as nobody had much early on. I had some really soft jelly pellets with me, given to me by Dick Warrener a few weeks ago, and I had a VERY intersting experience with them.
First drop out at 2+3 and I lost a fish. Then I had a little knock which I couldn't strike at, and when I brought the rig back the pellet was gone. Next drop the same thing happened. And the next; and the next; and the next. They must have been F1s taking the pellet from the hook, as the bites were so delicate. So I learned something, and will try it again, because I now knew that fish were definitely interested in those soft pellets, and those knocks were not liners.
A proper pellet brought one fish, but hard pellet didn't get a bite. With fish on the surface I tried shallow, but never had a touch. So it was into the margins with corn for most of the rest of the match.
Neil had an F1 or two early on, and now I had a couple, but it took ages to get the bites. All came from the left margin - the right margin saw me hook a big fish which came off, possibly foulhooked. I also bumped two or three fish.
The F1s were all 2 lb-plus, apart from one 5 lb common carp, and I had only about ten fish in my net with 20 minutes to go. Then suddenly I started getting bites more quickly and in that last 20 minutes I had four F1s and lost a really big fish, which I played for two or three minutes before, unaccountably, the 7 lb hook length broke for no apparent reason. It broke just above the hook, so perhaps it had rubbed on the hard lips of the fish, which looked to be over 10 lb when it came to the surface.
To my right Peter Harrison had had a few F1s from the end bank to the right of his peg 10, and he said that in that last 20 minutes he had 16 lb of F1s in his second net. I had clicked 35 lb.
Graham Ward on peg 4 had F1s.
The weigh in
Trevor started, with 50 lb from peg 3, and the weights opposite me, in the wind, from peg 4 to 9, seemed to be a bit better than Neil and I had. Top two were Rod Melnyk on 8 and Kev Lee on 9, both over 60 lb. Peter Harrison on corner peg 10 on my bank had 52 lb 2 oz, and I had 40 lb 5 oz. all except one being F1s.
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| Rod Melnyk, on the bank opposite me also had mainly F1s. |
The weights got better then, and John Smith on 24 weighed in 102 lb 10 oz for a good win. His fish were all big carp, taken mainly from his right margin, one of which he landeed after the whistle. And it was noticeable that as the scales went round towards the high numbers more and more big carp were in the keepnets.
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| John Smith with one of the best carp from his 102 lb 10 oz! |
I finished nowhere, but actually I really enjoyed the match, fishing for just one fish at a time. And I give myself 8/10, because I think I had a decent weight from that swim on that day. Pity about that one big lost fish though! It shows how important that last half hour is, though - you must have rigs ready, set at the right depth, and a spare as well. My next match is Sunday on Yew, with the corners probably favourite.
